Mayor
After losing three times in bids for mayor, he was elected in 1963. He served for five consecutive two-year terms.
Houston grew immensely when Welch was mayor. In 1963, Houston's population reached over one million people, yet was then still considered a "small" city in the eyes of the national media. Under Welch, several events put Houston prominently on the U.S. and world maps, including the opening of the Astrodome in 1965 and the Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969. NASA at nearby Mission Control sent a man to the moon. Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston opened to provide water for Houston. Welch also closed forty inefficient sewage treatment plants, began cleaning up the Houston Ship Channel, focused on bayou beautification; and began development of the downtown Civic Center, among other accomplishments. It should also be noted that Welch was the first Houston mayor to win all precincts during one of his reelections, including predominantly African American areas with which some claim he had trouble.
By the time that Welch left office in 1973, Houston had supplanted Philadelphia to become the fourth largest city in the United States.
Read more about this topic: Louie Welch
Famous quotes containing the word mayor:
“The populations of Pwllheli, Criccieth,
Portmadoc, Borth, Tremadoc, Penrhyndeudraeth,
Were all assembled. Criccieth’s mayor addressed them
First in good Welsh and then in fluent English,”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)
“If a large city can, after intense intellectual efforts, choose for its mayor a man who merely will not steal from it, we consider it a triumph of the suffrage.”
—Frank Moore Colby (1865–1925)
“Break up the printing presses and you break up rebellion.”
—Dudley Nichols, U.S. screenwriter. Jean Renoir. Mayor (Thurston Hall)